34th ICRI
General Meeting

• October 26th: Draft agenda available (the deadline to provide comments for the agenda and/or propose new item is November 8th, 2019. Please contact directly Francis Staub ([email protected])
• October 26th – Workshop page updated
• October 26th – Field Trip Page updated, including the hotel for the field trip
• The online registration form now available

• 2 November – Registration deadline
• 2 November – Registration deadline for submitting ‘motions’
• mid November – Final agenda posted
• 2 December – Meeting commences

Visitors to Australia will require a visa. Details of the process and type of visa that you will require can be found here: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-finder/visit. Should you need a letter of invitation, please contact [email protected]. We recommend all participants apply for their visa well in advance.

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, located about 1,348 km from Brisbane and 348 km from Cairns. With a population of close to 200,000, the city is a hub for business and industry and is often referred to as the unofficial capital of North Queensland.
Townsville lies adjacent to the central part of the Great Barrier Reef and is close by many other natural wonders including Magnetic Island, Paluma Range National Park and Hinchinbrook Island. The Headquarters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and its education centre, Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium, are located here.

Townsville Airport (TSV)
Note: If you intend to participate in the field visit we recommend that you fly into Townsville Airport and out of Cairns Airport.

Townsville is in the dry tropics region and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year. December is the warmest month of the year with average maximum temperature of 31 degrees and average minimum of 24 degrees. Townsville is susceptible to tropical cyclones.

Australian Dollars

English

Session 1: Opening and membership

• Opening and welcome
• Housekeeping
• Presentation & adoption the agenda
• Welcome new members and observers
  • Canada – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
  • Germany – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
  • Jordan (TBC) – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
  • Sri-Lanka (TBC) – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
  • Mars Inc. – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
    Alicia McArdle, Marine Conservation Programme Manager Mars Inc.
  • Mirpuri – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
  • World Underwater Federation (CMAS) – Expression of interest to join ICRI (PDF file)
• New ICRI website
  Francis Staub, ICRI Secretariat

Session 2 – AIMS Science Day: science and managing for resilience theme contributing to theme 1 (Reef restoration) and 2 (Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network)

• Reef restoration (Theme 1) and report from the ad hoc committee on reef restoration
• Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (Theme 2)
  David Souter and Serge Planes
  • Tools and resources for coral reef monitoring, MERMAID – example of global dashboard (datamermaid.org)
    Emily Darling, WCS

BBQ dinner hosted by AIMS at their Cape Ferguson facility

Session 3 – The Implementation of the Plan of Action 2018-2020

• Theme 1 – Promote effective and adaptable solutions to improve the protection of coral reefs
  • Summaries of legislative and regulatory mechanisms
  • Ad hoc committee on developing a recommendation for a post-2020 coral reef target
    Chuck Cooper, Vulcan
  • Innovative financing (TBC)
  • Report from 4th World Heritage Marine Managers Meeting ICRI Side Event on reef resilience
    Margaret Johnson, GBRMPA
  • Resilience-based Management Workshop
    Ben Palmer, GBRMPA
• Theme 4 – Help to reduce anthropogenic threats to coral reefs
  • The noise pollution in coral reefs
    Didier Zocolla, Monaco
  • Australian Government initiatives to reduce plastic debris in the Pacific region
• Theme 3 –Live Reef Food Fish Trade (LRFFT)
  Yvonne Sadovy and Indonesia
• International Tropical Marine Ecosystem Management Symposium (ITMEMS)
  Indonesia
• Fostering partnerships / collaboration, including with private sector
  • Commonwealth Blue Charter (TBC)
  • Community of Ocean Action (TBC)
  • G7 Environment Ministers’ Meeting, May 2019 (TBC)

Session 4: Discussion on draft Motions

Official ICRI General Meeting and ICRI 25th Anniversary Dinner
The Ville, Townsville

Session 5: Reports from ICRI bodies

• Report from members
  • Overview of impact of and response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease plaguing Florida and parts of the Caribbean
    Jennifer Koss, Director/NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program

Session 6: The future

• Post 2020 framework
  • Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), October 2020, China
• Upcoming events of interest to members
  • 11-19 June 2020, Marseille, France – IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020
  • 5-10 July 2020, Bremen, Germany – 14th International Coral Reef Symposium
    • Policy Side Event at the 14th International Coral Reef Symposium
  • The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)

• Next Secretariat

Session 7: Meeting outcomes and closing

• Adopted documents from the meeting

Optional tour of Australian Institute of Marine Science vessel, the Cape Ferguson

Townsville to Port Douglas (coach trip from Townsville to Port Douglas)
Will include a stopover at the Hinchinbrook Island lookout, with talks along the way from GBRMPA experts and Traditional Owners.

Port Douglas – Site visit to the Great Barrier Reef

• Build an understanding of what “managing for resilience” means for coral reefs
• Share leading practice examples of how resilience-based management can be applied
• Open a dialogue about resilience-based management and the tools available for coral reef managers.

1. Welcome
2. Traditional Owner perspective
3. Overview of resilience-based management, its benefits and how it differs from regular protected area management including an overview of coral reef ecosystem resilience dynamics
4. What resilience-based management for coral reefs looks like using case studies
5. Coral reef resilience assessments
6. Coral reef Resilience Network: resources and tools for managers
7. The Resilient Reefs Initiative: introduction to new global program and preview of resilience strategy at Ningaloo Coast
8. Scaling up resilience-based management of coral reefs: small group discussions
9. Reporting back on how to apply approaches
10. Wrap up
11. ICRI General Meeting 34 Welcome Cocktail Reception

A field visit to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park will take place on Saturday 7 December, departing from Port Douglas. Download the draft itinerary for the field visit to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (PDF File).

Port Douglas is a coastal town on the Coral Sea, approximately 400 km (248 miles) north from Townsville, known for its beachside resorts and as a base for visits to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree National Park – part of Australia’s Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

The ICRI Secretariat will provide transport from Townsville to Port Douglas by coach on Friday 6 December, and the coach ride will take participants on an unforgettable 6-hour journey along the coast of the Great Barrier Reef and through the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area – where the rainforest meets the sea.

Participants may also choose to fly directly from Townsville to Cairns and arrange their own transfers to Port Douglas at their own expense, should they prefer not to travel by coach. Qantas (www.qantas.com) and Regional Express (www.rex.com.au) both provide regular daily flight services between Townsville and Cairns, with a number of shuttle bus providers offering services between Cairns Airport and Port Douglas.

The closest airport to Port Douglas is Cairns Airport. If you plan to join the field visit, please remember you will need to book your returning flights from Cairns Airport. Transfer time from Port Douglas to Cairns Airport is 60-70 minutes. Coach transfers will not be provided.

Cairns Airport Shuttle can provide transfers from Port Douglas to Cairns Airport. https://www.cairnsairportshuttle.net/.

You will need to book your hotel in Port Douglas for Friday 6 December and Saturday 7 December.

A block booking has been made at Oaks Resort Port Douglas for two nights from check-in on Friday 6 December to check-out on Sunday 8 December. To make a booking, contact [email protected] or call +61 7 32461700 and be sure to quote GBRMPA GOV at the time of booking. Rooms/Rates:

• Hotel Garden View Rooms – $129 per night

The closest airport is Townsville Airport (TSV)
Note: If you intend to participate in the field visit we recommend that you fly into Townsville Airport and out of Cairns Airport.

The meeting will be held at Mercure Hotel Townsville.
A block booking has been made at a discounted price for participants at the Mercure Hotel. To make a booking, call 07 4759 4900 or email [email protected] and quote GBR021219 at the time of booking. The discounted price is only available until 30 days prior to the event.

Rooms/Rates:

• Standard Queen Rooms (1x queen) – $129.00 per room per night, inclusive of buffet breakfast for 1 adult or $139.00 per night with breakfast for 2 adults
• Standard Twin Rooms (1x queen & 1x single) – $139.00 per room per night, inclusive of buffet breakfast for 1 adult or $149.00 per night with breakfast for 2 adults
• Superior King Rooms (1x king or 2 x king singles) – $149.00 per room per night, inclusive of buffet breakfast for 1 adult or $159.00 per night with breakfast for 2 adults

Note: If you wish to stay elsewhere, please be aware that you will need to arrange your own transport to and from the meeting venue (Mercure Hotel) each day.

Hotel for the Field Visit: Port Douglas – Friday 6 to Sunday 8 December

A block booking has been made at Oaks Resort Port Douglas for two nights from check-in on Friday 6 December to check-out on Sunday 8 December. To make a booking, contact [email protected] or call +61 7 32461700 and be sure to quote GBRMPA GOV at the time of booking.
Rooms/Rates:

• Hotel Garden View Rooms – $129 per night

Visitors to Australia will require a visa. Details of the process and type of visa that you will require can be found here: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-finder/visit. Should you need a letter of invitation, please contact [email protected]. We recommend all participants apply for their visa well in advance.